At least 30 electric vehicles expected to ply Metro Cebu routes in January

Screen grab from Global Electric Transport (GET) Philippines

MANDAUE CITY, Cebu — At least 30 electric vehicles are expected to be rolling out in Metro Cebu on January 2022, hoping to address the traffic situation and air pollution here.

This after the Global Electric Transport (GET) Philippines, through the Cebu Leads Foundation Inc. (CFLI), partnered with the private sectors through a virtual contract signing on Thursday, September 9, 2022.

Freddie Tinga, president of GET Philippines, said such project would serve as ground solution to the huge problems they had seen in Cebu — the traffic and air pollution.

With a capacity of 20-30 passengers each, Tinga said these buses could run the same number of hours as any diesel buses.

While it is an eco-friendly vehicle, Tinga said this would also be partnered with a mobile app, where their target stakeholders such as companies, malls, BPOs, and any other organizations would subscribe.

Apart from that, Tinga added that such vehicles, which would serve as shuttles, would also give access to persons with disabilities (PWDs).

What stakeholders would need to do, said Tinga, would be to download the GET pass app to avail the comfortable ride. This will also serve as tool to create a fleet manage transport system.

“So you won’t have anymore issues of people fighting for public transport, nag-aagawan sumakay sa bus. That’s not going to exist anymore. By doing so, you will be able to track the vehicle and the passenger,” he said.

(So you won’t have anymore issues of people fighting for public transport, people who fight to get in the bus first. That’s not going to exist anymore. By doing so, you will be able to track the electric vehicle and the passenger.)

He also assured the public that the rates in which the oraganization would be subscribing, would not be different from what would be being asked from express or jeepneys.

Engineer Raul Lucero, president of the Visayan Electric Company (VECO), for his part, assured that they would be providing the necessary power to charge all the electric vehicles, free of charge for one year.

The green transport movement, which started in Metro Davao and Metro Manila in 2020 and 2021, respectively, is expected to skyrocket here in Cebu.

Gordon Alan Joseph, GET Cebu corporate partner and chief executive officer of the PhilInsure, also noted that four percent of the vehicles in the world were electronic, which would be an indication of where they would be going.

“I think while it’s still relatively small scale [with] 30 e-buses, [which] will not yet provide the entire solution that we’ll eventually provide. I think it’s gonna be a good start and this is going to trigger a move towards climate change friendly technology and the merging of technologies of transport and mobility,” said Jospeh.

Citing this as the most flexible and cost-effective solution, Tinga said this would complement the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) system which was expected to be operational at the last quarter of this year.

“This is a first mile, last mile project where the idea really is that you will eventually need bigger vehicles to do major thoroughfares and all. But we’re also saying that this size of the vehicle a six meter 20-30 passenger capacity is the ideal first mile, last mile shuttle system. So it complements BRT, it complements subway, it complements high speed transit,” the GET Philippines president said.

Other GET Cebu corporate partners Wally Liu of the Primary Group of Builders and Steven Alain Yu of One Central Hotel, also hoped that such project would effect lasting changes to the environment and efficient living as well.

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